Malaysian Open Results

First off, let me briefly explain the format for this event. The tournament ran for a little over one week. Qualifying consisted of three games with your two best 3-game blocks counting towards making the finals. So you can bowl as many times as you want to try and improve your scores.

The top 3 from the local Malaysian bowlers and the top 3 from the overseas bowlers got one bye in the finals. Then there are 7 more bowlers from each the local and overseas pool that qualified for the finals. And finally, if you didn't make it through either of those ways, then there's another mixed pool of the next 12 highest bowlers.

I qualifed 2nd in the overseas pool with sets of 726 and 737, so I was automatically seeded into Round 2 of the finals. Round 2 consisted of 8 games, with the top 8 competitors advancing to the quarterfinals (no pins carried over from qualifying).

So in Round 2, I shot +186 for the 8 games and qualified in 5th position. That put me bowling against 4th seed Carolyn Dorin-Ballard for the quarterfinals.

In the quarterfinals, it was a best 2-out-of-3 format. I beat Carolyn the first game 197-182. Then she beat me the second game 248-215. That put us tied at 1-1. The last game I never missed the pocket but didn't carry (also leaving a pocket 7-10) and lost 230-203.

I finished 7th overall in the tournament and Carolyn went on to win the entire event.

For a complete finals story of the event, see the following link:http://www.mtbc.org.my/results/32ndopen-res.htm

Also, the picture above is the Top 8 women and Top 8 men for the quarterfinals. For the women(from left to right): me, Bernice Lim from Singapore, Wendy Macpherson, Geraldine NG from Singapore, Shayna Ng from Singapore, Sharon Koh from Malaysia, Shalin Zulkifli from Malaysia and Carolyn Dorin-Ballard

Missy Makes Top 8 at the Malaysian Open

Check out the story:

http://www.mtbc.org.my/results/32ndopen-res.htm#Round2

And be sure to check http://www.mtbc.org.my/ for complete up-to-date coverage of the finals that are taking place tomorrow!

Till then...

Missy in Malaysia

Hello from Malaysia!

The 32nd Canon Malaysian Open started this past Friday, March 13th at Sunway Pyramid Mega Lanes inside Pyramid shopping center. Pyramid shopping center is HUGE - four levels and really spread out. There's even an ice skating rink in the center and theme parks outside. So needless to say I haven't been bored. Prior to the start of the tournament I have been seeing the sights, shopping and eating lots of yummy food in Kuala Lumpur.

I went to the Malaysian National Museum in downtown KL and learned more about the Malaysian culture and history. Outside the museum is a traditional Malaysian village house made out of wood and tree leaves for the roof. See picture above.

I've also been eating a lot of really good food! From Indian, Chinese, Malaysian and Thai ,the food may look a little different but it all tastes yummy. We went to an outdoor Indian restaurant where a banana leaf is your plate and your hands are your utensils. See picture above.

I also had a Thai massage while I've been here because massages and facials are so cheap compared to the U.S. An hour massage is only $20.

The other day we did the craziest thing ever! Inside pyramid shopping center, we had a fish pedicure. Yes, FISH! It was so weird. You put your feet inside a fish tank full of minnows and the fish eat all of the dead skin off the bottom of your feet. It tickles sooooooooooo bad! I was laughing so hard for 5 minutes that I was crying. Eventually I got use to it and it really worked. My feet are so smooth.

Check out the link below for more information on how I'm doing in the Malaysian Open and be sure to stop by my blog for more information as the tournament progresses. Till then...

http://www.abf-online.org/results/32ndopen-res.htm#Mar14A

Missy Finishes 6th in DHC Girls Championship

The DHC Girls Championship in Tokyo, Japan came and went too fast. Once Friday hit, it was a whirlwind of bowling until I left Monday morning.

Friday, we had a bowlers'/manager's meeting and press conference. Then immediately following we had the official practice session, where several media photographers and video crew were also on hand. Official practice was a little different than what we are used to in the U.S.A We had an assigned group of 6 lanes we could bowl on and then we moved 6 lanes every 20 minutes for a 2-hour long practice session.

After practice, we had a welcome reception where all of the competitors were announced and speeches were made by Japanese dignitaries. Then we had a really good buffet style dinner with traditional Japanese food and Western food.

Saturday was all day bowling day! We had 5 on a pair, and we weren't allowed to move to our next pair and begin the next game until everyone was finished with the previous game. So another words, it made for a REALLY long day. We bowled 6 games in the morning, and I shot +134 and was in 21st. Scores were high and the lanes were pretty easy.

However, the next 6 game block proved to be tougher as they did not re-oil the lanes. The lanes became really wet/dry and over-walled, meaning the dry outside part of the lane was too dry and the oily inside part of the lane was really wet. I bowled really well on the shot and ended the day at +297 overall and in 7th place.

After Saturday's 12 games, the field of 90 bowlers was cut to the top 32. Then we bowled 6 more games of semis to determine the top 8 for the TV show. I bowled just o.k. during the first three games and had moved down to 10th place. Then I started throwing the ball better and carried more and shot 216 and 238 and had moved up to 8th place going into the final game. Scores were extremely close and a lot of people still had a shot at the TV show. Being in 8th position, I knew I needed a big game and came threw striking out in the 10th frame for a 245, moving me into 5th place and on the TV show.

The TV finals 1st match featured 5th-8th bowling a 1-game shootout match with the highest score advancing to the top 5 stepladder finals. In the shootout match, I bowled against Sharon Koh from Malaysia, Mayumi Yoshida from JPBA and Jeon Eun-Hee from Korea. I bowled really well the entire game, but a stubborn 7 pin in the 9th frame ended up costing me the win. I lost to Jeon Eun-Hee of Korea 232-237 and ended up in 6th place. Jeon Eun-Hee ended up climbing the ladder to capture the championship.

For the full story, see link below.

http://www.bowlingdigital.com/bowl/node/5994

Missy in Japan!

Hello everyone!

I flew 12 hours to compete in Tokyo, Japan in the DHC Cup Girls Championship. While I was in Tokyo, I was able to do a little sightseeing. My favorite place was Asakusa. It's an old part of Tokyo that still preserves the traditional Japanese culture. There's a huge gate that opens up into Nakamise street, which is almost like an outdoor flea market, filled with lots of Japanese crafts and souveniors. At the end of this line of shops is the Sensoji Temple.

It's big and really beautiful. On the way up to the stairs of the temple there were various rituals performed by locals. There was a a little well that had incense burning and everyone went up to it and pulled the smoke from the incense towards their bodies. Then there was a fountain with soup laddels in it and people scoopped up the water from the upper part of the fountain, then put it in their mouth and spit it out in the lower part of the fountain.

I then headed to the part of town called Shibuya, a trendy fashion area full of really cute shops. The area is near Harajuku, the Gwen Stefani inspired part of Tokyo. From there I stopped at Ginza, another shopping area full of high-end shops that boasts the highest piece of real estate per square inch in Japan.

After browsing around, I went to the Imperial Palace, which is the home of the royal Japanese Family. The grounds are enormous! The entire palace has a moat around it, complete with swans and there are several entrances.

Enjoy the pictures!

Missy Goes to Asia!!!

Hello all!

I leave tomorrow to compete in two tournaments in Asia.


The first event is the DHC All Girl's Bowling International Championships, which will run from March 6-8th in Tokyo, Japan. For results and information, check www.bowlingdigital.com


I will then fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to compete in the Canon 32nd Malaysian International Open, running from March 13th -21st. To follow along with tournament results, information and photos, click here.


I'll be blogging from abroad as much as possible, along with posting fun photos!